I bought a big, busted cheap van. It has been a dream of mine for some time to do head south for the winter or at least part of it. My son and my partner's daughter just graduated high school and are headed to college this fall. I am able to do a seasonal layoff from work. This van showed up on marketplace and I just had it delivered for $600 total. I am sitting in it, in my driveway, typing this out. No money/ title exchange yet because he forgot it. So if he never comes back I just got a free van I guess.
The deets:
Dodge 3500 extended van. Windows and slider. Front seats only.
196k on odometer.
Running 5.9
trans has problems. Drove it off of trailer and into the driveway but will slip when warm/ loaded
AC works.
has cruise. Not tested.
Dents rust and paint problems all present and accounted for.
Power windows and locks all work except for the slider. Passenger door has opening issues and slider is "janky"
I am deep into my Fiat re-swapping project and super busy at work so what better time to start another project?!
In all its glory: 
All the carpet layers would buy those so they can pick up the carpet rolls. That thing is a beast.
Check for rust on the front frame rails by the steering box and idler arm..
In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :
I will look at those more closely. I remember some rust at the forward Y in front of the steering box.
I ended up driving part way to meet the seller at a gas station for the final exchange. I have a title and he gave me this vent fan to go in the hole in the roof. 
supposed to be the business in terms of vent fans. There is a local junkyard that is closing one side at least of their operation and yesterday, before I got the van, I had a look and made some inquiries about 3/4 ton 4x4 truck axles. I need to get back to the guy.
Good score! That fan is awesome, and worth a good chunk of your total price. Makes the van much more comfortable to have airflow. Nice to have interior already ripped out and some insulation in place also.
I tidied up inside the van last night. $0.27 recoup. Discarded 4 vapes, a ziplock of goldfish crackers, a third bottle of canola oil, too many smarties candies and some Ford floor mats. My dad is visiting and he is a longtime van enthusiast. We poked around and made a junkyard shopping list. I can roll under the chassis on my creeper without jacking the van, so I did to look some more at the front of the subframe. Passenger side by idler arm.
looks good to me.
The drivers side by the steering box: 
Not as nice looking. From the outboard looking in:
I didn't immediately think "I can't believe that it is still connected?!" Or, "Could poke my finger through" like some midwestern vehicles I've seen. I honestly don't have a ton of experience with super super rusty cars (Knock wood). So not sure where this falls in the spectrum. I opened up the doghouse too, just because. 
Engine location confirmed.
These were the go-to tour van for bands back in the 00's because you could buy them for $1000 and they were pretty reliable. I had a minibus conversion 1994 and it was great. It would do 90 mph without even blinking, full of music equipment and 23 year olds. I miss seeing these things on the road.
That said a guy I knew had an ex NY state corrections van that the steering box ripped out of the "frame" due to rust when he was parallel parking. So keep an eye on any crustiness.
Went to the junkyard Saturday with my Dad. We did find 4 Dodge vans of similar generation to mine and between 3 of them I could have a full set of factory tinted rear glass. Didn't pull the trigger because WOW! The yard I remember being very affordable must have gotten internet service because the prices are way more than I was expecting. If decide to throw down I could have improved rear door and slider as well. There is even a trans, but Think that $750+ is too much for 205k miles and a year off (95 instead of 96 which my research indicates are different) We ended up spending $125 on a somewhat measly haul that included a broken off screw.
Right!? There should be way more awesomeness there for that $. Visors did not fit, maybe can be made to and the passenger side tail light had a stuck screw. It eventually yielded, nice because breaking the lens would have been a real downer. 
When I went to install the "slider mechanism fairing" I discovered that it is broken. 
This is probably contributing to the "jankiness" of the slider. I may try to find one somewhere else.
Went underneath and got a picture of the numbers cast into the trans case.
Right now it is raining and there is a big hole in the van roof so I should get some sealant ordered to install the fan.
Dajiban!!!!!
Tranny should be a 46re, I think. Like most Mopar transmissions, they are strong but susceptible to heat.
'96 5.9 means you have Magnum heads and manifolds, which are quite decent flowing for factory pieces; the exhaust manifolds are prone to cracking, however. Throw a Hughes cam at it and you'll be surprised how much it wakes up.
Hughes Engines
If you are looking for a 4x4 front axle, one of my buddies has a Dana 44HD front axle out of a dodge truck he'd probably be willing to sell you. We are located in Twin Falls, Idaho; let me know if you are interested.
In reply to Recon1342 :
Filing this away for later.
Sent out the order for transmission rebuild parts. Went for billet accumulator and hold servo kit, new accumulator spring and a basic shift kit too. Knowing parts are on the way I decided to remove some of the things in the way of me dropping the trans. Sprayed PB Blaster on the exhaust bolts. Also visible, the fresh starter.
Took the plugs off of all the trans electronics and removed the driveshaft. Drained trans fluid. 
The exhaust bolts were not compliant. Sawzall handled things on the drivers side. 
Passenger side doesn't have the same access but the angle grinder fits for the back one. And I ended up with a ratchet and wrench combo to break the front one. 
As it turns out, I have a convenient place to store the driveshaft and exhaust until they go back in. Hahaha, this is how a van becomes a shed. 
Planning to borrow a coworker's transmission jack when removal time comes. I also noticed when the wheels were up that both front wheels have some play. Not that surprising since the tires are worn pretty unevenly as well.
The first of my transmission parts showed up: The reverse band and the Service book. I spent the day helping a friend change an ABS wire in his Tacoma and doing front and rear brake pads and front rotors on my minivan. At lunch I was checking marketplace and something showed up 1.5hours away for half-challenge money:
1989. Sink, stove fridge. POP TOP! Seller is not ready with the title notorized but we've spoken on the phone and he seems like a legit dude. Comes with some spares.
Doesn't run. Burned and leaked oil prior to being parked for the last 8 years. Had a "new transmission put in" at some point when operational. "Not Rusty" -seller. Sent partner the link and she is into it. Making tow arrangements now. If one is good then two must be better.
Oh HELL YEAH! That pop top is sweet! Do you have the VIN, so you can check if it is titles as a van or an RV? Would matter for insurance, and in my case, HOA.
Well, we made the trip and in a surprising turn of events, we passed. There were a number of pros: price, straight body, etc. Some cons too: It really did need a TON of work on the interior work and the top needed new windows and most screens. The layout wasn't really doing it for me. The clincher though was that my beloved lady couldn't pop the top solo. Great platform for someone else! Super nice seller. Plus good burritos on the way home.
GoLucky said:
Well, we made the trip and in a surprising turn of events, we passed. There were a number of pros: price, straight body, etc. Some cons too: It really did need a TON of work on the interior work and the top needed new windows and most screens. The layout wasn't really doing it for me. The clincher though was that my beloved lady couldn't pop the top solo. Great platform for someone else! Super nice seller. Plus good burritos on the way home.
Hold up ! !
You mean to tell me, it's possible to go look at a vehicle and NOT buy it?
Indy - Guy said:
GoLucky said:
Well, we made the trip and in a surprising turn of events, we passed. There were a number of pros: price, straight body, etc. Some cons too: It really did need a TON of work on the interior work and the top needed new windows and most screens. The layout wasn't really doing it for me. The clincher though was that my beloved lady couldn't pop the top solo. Great platform for someone else! Super nice seller. Plus good burritos on the way home.
Hold up ! !
You mean to tell me, it's possible to go look at a vehicle and NOT buy it?
What is this magic you speak of?!
I'm as shocked as all of you!
Reflecting back on this unprecedented event I think the outcome was influenced by the people who were there with me: My beloved lady and my Dad. Normally it would be a car buddy, or even worse, me solo. Car buddies and the voices in my head are enablers; they get some kind of kick out of watching me make bad decisions (likely to feel better about their own) (Dude is he talking about voices still?).
My Dad and lady are inverse enablers, Disablers maybe,? They seemed to be looking out for me in different ways. Asking questions like "How much of all this work is exciting for you?" And "Will you have time to do the other things in your life that you enjoy."
It seems to have worked out because my DD minivan just did the super overheated thing and now has claimed top priority and the remaining accessible driveway spot.
Got a small amount of work done on "Vannah Montana" as we now call it. The DD minivan needed some cooling system diagnosis and repair and that meant down time while pressure testing and coolant bleeding etc. I took advantage and scraped all of the old sealant off of the fan flange. There was a lot. 
There is a new flange available for this fan, and that maybe will happen someday. I repaired one corner that was cracked off using feather fletching glue. It was the closest thing to super glue that I had. For now, using marine grade silicone it should be a significant improvement over the large hole in the roof. 
Lots of transmission parts are on hand, don't want to assume yet that more aren't needed. I have been watching through the 46re class video series from Transmission Bench and the guy is great. Need to get bikes, junk and other project pieces more organized in order to make a trans service space.
After work yesterday I was feeling the need to get some van tasks done. I did actually disconnect the battery, it was flat so it is charging in the garage. Unbolted the starter and set it in the crossmember. I got linkages unclipped and began removing bolts. 
It kept on going fairly smoothly and it seemed like all of the bell housing bolts are accessible from underneath. The only odd thing was that an engine oil change is also happening too since the oil filter had to come off to remove one of the bell housing bolts. Hooked up the borrowed trans jack and, WOW that made things feel so much easier and safer. 
In short order I was here: 
It did require me to lift the back of the van up to get the trans out but overall still pretty straightforward. I have a jack under the engine oil pan to keep it from dropping too far. After a slight struggle the trans was free of the van. 
I pulled out the converter and it had less fluid than I expected, or maybe it is just not coming out yet? 
My steel table is pretty tall and I believe that I could lift the trans up onto it, but for health and safety reasons I let hydraulics do the work for me. 
This was also where I realized that I should have pulled the pan under the van and I made a mess. But no real harm done. Transmission from van to table. 
Still wrenching I decided to pull the pump. I have seen several methods: slide hammers, prying from behind after pulling the valve body and what I did. I installed two of the upper bell housing bolts into the threaded holes in the pump and "walked" the pump out with gentle pry force from a bigger combination wrench. Worked great. 
Kept pulling it apart and ended the night here: 
Now I must go capture some fresh Genies to replace the ones that escaped.
On a completely different note: We tried out some Rustoleum color mixing and found an Ace knock off color called "safety green" to try a foam roller section. I also have a Hammer Store HVLP gun so maybe a test of that next. I was unable to locate any enamel hardener locally so may have to order some. 
It is somehow liberating to have such a bad paint situation to begin with. Seems like almost anything will be an improvement.
That looks a lot like the green the forest service used to use on their trucks. Great color imo
In reply to orthoxstice :
I am no color expert but it does look like Forest Service green to me too. We aren't fully committed yet, but it is the front runner.
I finished case component removal and started out by replacing the rubber seals and interlocking rings in the pump. The pump bushing looks new, so maybe someone has been into this thing before. I didn't take any pump pictures but it was all boringly good. Which is great! The forward/direct clutch pack looks surprisingly good as well. There are some things that don't look good but that will be for later. 
The bushing also looked pretty good, but I was eager to use my bushing press set so it got replaced. Out with the old. 
new one in: 
new seals on the piston inner and outer and then with a couple of welding clamps springs compressed and snap ring back on. 
Followed by new steels and clutches. 
The clearance spec to the wavy snap ring is bigger than my set of feeler gauges so I used an Allen wrench and it all seems happy. Stopped for the night.
